Tree of the Quarter: Redoiser

Dogwood (Cornus sericea) is an

open, multi-stemmed shrub, growing

up to 10’ tall and 12” at the crown. The bark is a dark red color, adding

a splash of color to the otherwise stark winter landscape. Dogwood is adaptable to a wide variety of soils,

but does best in a moist to wet loams. It is a great conservation

shrub, as it provides dense cover for a variety of wildlife species, and works well as a snow catch and

windbreak. Dogwood spreads via lower prostrate stems, growing and spreading quickly. Leaves are dark green, changing to a lovely purple color in the fall. If interested in plant-

ing Redosier Dogwood, conservation grade bare root trees can be ordered

through the SCD Tree Store.

In This Issue

Page 1

2015 Achievement Award

Tree of the Quarter

Page 2

2015 Annual Report

Page 3

2016 Scholarship

FSA Reminders

Page 4

Board of Supervisor News

NRCS News

Page 5

Tree Planting

Winter Grazing

Page 6

Sponsors

Winter 2016

2015 Achievement Winner

Richard and Karen Faught, of Amenia, have been chosen as the

2015 Achievement Award winners. Richard started his tenure on the

Board of the Cass County SCD in 1991, following his father, Roy

Faught, who retired after 30 years on the Board. Richard has repre-

sented Cass County in various aspects of conservation throughout

the state and nation. He has been Chairman of the Cass County Soil

Conservation District, Director of the North Dakota Association of

Soil Conservation Districts, and represented the state at different

levels in the National Association Conservation Districts. He has al-

so been very active with RC & D. He is a very avid conservationist

and has many stories he can

tell about soil, crops and wa-

ter. While actively farming,

Richard experimented in vari-

ous innovative farming practic-

es, such as strip-tilling and an

early Agway system. Even after

retiring, he agreed to return to

the Board of the SCD on an

interim basis during the

search for a new board mem-

ber. Congratulations Richard

and Karen!

District Staff

Jeff Miller—Operations Coordinator

Tony Peterson—District Technician

Eric Dahl—Watershed Coordinator

Amy Cole—District Clerk

Ashley Fisk—Urban Conservationist

NRCS Staff

Ryan Haspel-Acting District Conservation

Matt Shappell-Soil Conservationist

Matt Waclawik—Wetlands Specialist

Justin Fisher–Wetlands Specialist

Blake Johnson– Agriculture Engineer

District Supervisors

Terry Hoffmann—Wheatland

Brad Kellerman—West Fargo

Curt Knutson—Page

Brooks Whitmore—Page

Warren Solberg—Horace

http://cassscd.org

Check us out on Facebook!

Cass County Soil Conservation District

Conservation News

ANNUAL REPORT: 2015 was another great year for conservation in Cass County.

Winter 2016 Page 2

The District worked closely with our partners NRCS and FSA in setting up CRP, EQIP, and CSP contracts that involved either

tree plantings or grass plantings. A few customers were able to utilize the cost-share program with the Outdoor Heritage Fund.

We would like to thank all the cooperators in the county for giving the District the opportunity to apply conservation to their

land. The District assisted these cooperators in planting 228,000 LF of trees and installed 205,000 LF of weed barrier. Almost

55,000 trees were planted in Cass County in 2015.

Our Eco-Ed outdoor educational program was held at Brewer Lake. 143 students from Central Cass School and Oak Grove Lu-

theran School enjoyed the beautiful weather while rotating through the six stations: Water Quality, Woodlands, Prairie, Wet-

lands, Geology, and Soils. The Fargo Audubon Chapter instructed the students in basic birding techniques.

Maple River Watershed Project Phase II (Buffalo Creek) is open for sign-up and we are continuously accepting cost-share ap-

plications for management practices in the Buffalo Creek Watershed. Practices include livestock management, cover crop, grass

and tree establishment, septic system renovations, and more. The Buffalo Creek Watershed Project is off to a good start and

several producers have been signing up and showing interest in the project. Other new developments include a large scale no-till

demonstration farm located near Gardner, and a cover crop demonstration plot near Embden. These demo plots are sponsored

by the 319 Watershed Project and the Cass County SCD. We will be holding field tours again at both sites in 2016 and hope to

see you there!

The Urban Conservation program has been expanding this year. We took on a few great projects throughout our community and

held several community educational workshops including the construction of rain barrels and building compost tumblers. Many

appearances were made throughout summer including the Fargo Police Picnic, Midwest Kidfest, and the 4th grade Water Festi-

val.

In celebration of Arbor Day and Earth Week, the District ,with its many community partners including Fargo Forestry, Fargo

Park District, and River Keepers, hosted two community events. The “Plant it For the Planet” was held at the Red River Zoo.

The “Reforest the Red” event allowed community residents to participate in tree planting along the Red River to enhance the

riparian forest. Both events were well attended and are planned again for 2016.

In March, the District held the annual Ladies Ag Night at St. Leo’s Church in Casselton. The event featured Kelsey Hoffmann,

and Julie Garden-Robinson, both from NDSU Extension. Ladies Ag Night is a special event to show appreciation for all the

ladies that are involved with agriculture in Cass County.

The District participated in the Ag in the Classroom program which was held at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds. This event

educates approximately 2000 Cass County 4th graders on various agriculture and conservation practices.

We had a booth at the Home and Garden Show at the Fargo Dome. During this event we get a chance to meet new people and

tell them about the many services the District has to offer.

We had a booth at the Big Iron Farm Show. Big Iron gives us a great opportunity to discuss soil conservation with the producers

that stop by the booth. During the show we also displayed our tree planting equipment at our shop, which is located on the Red

River Valley Fairgrounds.

The District was featured on AgWeek TV in June. They filmed the machine planting process for trees, and also a discussion on

the importance and benefits of planting trees. An article about the tree planting program also appeared in the June 12th edition

of the Farmer’s Forum.

All in all, it was a very productive and busy year. We look forward to working with producers and organizations to help Cass Coun-

ty continue to make strides in conservation!

“While the farmer holds title to the land, actually, it belongs to all of the people

because civilization itself rests upon the soil.” Thomas Jefferson

January 18th—Martin Luther King Day: Office Closed Ag in the Classroom—March 1-4th: RRVF

January 19th—Board Meeting: Fargo Field Office March 16th—Board Meeting: Fargo Field Office

February 15th– President’s Day: Office Closed March 10th—Ladies Ag Night: St. Leo’s Church, Casselton ND

February 16th—Board Meeting: Fargo Field Office

February 26-29th-Home and Garden Show: Fargodome

Upcoming Events

Winter 2016 Page 3

Scholarship Program

$1000.00 scholarship available for high

school students going into Natural Re-

source Management!! The Distr ict is ex-

cited to be able to offer this scholarship as a

way to encourage students to consider a

Natural Resource Management career.

CCSCD is accepting scholarship appli-

cations until July 1, 2016. The District is

encouraging high school seniors from Cass

County, ND to apply for the scholarship if

they plan to attend a North Dakota accredit-

ed college in the fall of 2016. The scholar-

ship is intended for students going into Nat-

ural Resource Management, Conservation

or other related fields of study.

Students can download an application on

the District website.

Spring FSA Reminders If your bank account information has changed,

please let the NRCS office know. Incorrect information

will delay your payments.

If you are adding or losing land, please contact the

FSA and NRCS office so we can update our records

If you have a new contract, please do not start any

practices prior to the contract being funded.

Prior to installation of any practices that are currently

in a contract, please contact the NRCS Field Office

staff to make sure the design is complete

If you have any program questions or would like more

information on programs available through the NRCS

office, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Conservation Quote of the Quarter:

“A cloak of loose, soft material, held to

the earth’s hard surface by gravity, is all

that lies between life and lifelessness.”

Wallace H. Fuller

General CRP Signup

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign-up 49 be-

gan Dec. 1 and runs through Feb. 26. CRP is a voluntary pro-

gram available to agricultural producers to help them safe-

guard environmentally sensitive land.

Producers that are accepted in the sign-up can receive cost-

share assistance to plant long-term, resource-conserving co-

vers and receive an annual rental payment for the length of

the contract (10-15 years).

Producers also are encouraged to look into CRP’s other en-

rollment opportunities offered on a continuous, non-

competitive, sign-up basis and that often provides additional

financial assistance. If you are interested in offering land into

the Conservation Reserve Program, please contact the FSA

Office.

Winter 2016 Page 4

Board of Supervisors News:

Brooks Whitmore, Page, was reappointed to his second term by the Board to serve for the year 2016.

Warren Solberg, Horace, was appointed to serve on the Board for 2016. He is a four th generation farmer on

his family’s homestead. He has been married to his wife, Mara, for over 32 years and have three adult children; Bran-

don, Britta and Bjorn. Although they retired from production agriculture in 2010, they still raise farm animals and

manage other farm interests. In addition, Warren works full time in Dining Services at Concordia College. After grad-

uating from Fargo South, he attended NDSU for one year and graduated from Moorhead Area Technical Institute, as

a certified diesel mechanic. Warren has served on numerous Church and Township Boards, as well as the Farmers

Union, where he served as County President. Having a farmstead located in the growth area of Fargo, he would like

to utilize his time on the Board to focus on this area of conservation and land development. He believes that it is im-

portant to strive towards the betterment of the community for future generations.

NRCS News: Brent Gustafson, Distr ict Conservationist for the Fargo Field Office, accepted the position of Area Resource

Conservationist at the Area Office in Jamestown. Brent was the DC in Fargo for 5 years.

During the search for a new DC, the Fargo Field Office will have an Acting District Conservationist. Amanda

Brandt, Valley City Field Office, served as Acting for the month of November , and Ryan Haspel, Wahpeton

Field Office, will be serving for the winter.

Matt Shappell joined the Fargo Field Office as a Soil Conservationist in October of 2015. He previously

worked as a Soil Conservation Technician in the Moorhead Field Office, and prior to that he worked with Ducks Un-

limited as a Conservation Programs Biologist.

Urban Conservation:

We have had the opportunity to work on some really great projects

this past field season. In particular, we were very excited to work

with the YMCA on 42nd Ave in south Fargo. Twenty children, who

are enrolled at the Y’s Early Learning Center, assisted us at our “Dig

Day”. Together, we were able to install a rain garden along with a

xeriscape in the Playscape area. In addition to the environmental

benefits of these projects, the children are able to learn about pollinators and native plants.

We also launched the addition of bale and pallet gardens into our Urban program. The simplicity and minimal space

requirement for these special gardens proved to make them very popular. If you’re interested in learning more about

the bale and pallet gardens, check out our website. We also sell the kits to make your own, and will be hosting a free

bale and pallet gardening class through the Fargo and West Fargo Park Districts in early May. For more information

on the class, please contact Ashley at Ashley.Fisk@nd.nacdnet.net or 701.282.2157 x3.

Our urban conservation cost-share program is currently accepting applications for projects in 2016. Rain gardens,

xeriscaping, rain barrels, compost tumblers, pervious pavers, bio-swales, and pollinator plantings are just a few of the

many urban conservation practices that are covered under the program. Applications are accepted through April

2016. For more information, check out our website www.cassscd.org or contact Ashley.

Winter 2016 Page 5

Tree Planting in 2016? Ground preparation is the most critical element in

tree planting success. If possible, the ground should

be worked the fall PRIOR to planting. If that isn’t

possible, spring tillage can suffice. Till the ground

to a moderate depth up to 8”, and do not plant crops

in the area where the trees will be planted. In the

heavier soils of the RRV, it is beneficial to work

the ground a few times prior to planting, as the

clods will be reduced and will aid in drying out the

ground.

Prior to installing fabric, you can continue to till or

mow around the planted trees, as laying fabric with

dense weeds is difficult and the trees won’t have a

high rate of survival. We do not recommend ferti-

lizer on new plantings, as it may burn up the trees.

If you have fabric on trees planted in the past, early

spring is a great time to check for girdling. As the

trees grow, their girth expands and may grow into

the fabric. A simple X cut with a knife will allow

the tree to grow unhindered.

Planting and maintaining trees is an endeavor that

rewards hard work. Careful minding of the trees

allows for a higher growth and survival rate.

Thankfully, all the hard work pays off, not only

now, but into the future, when these beautiful prai-

rie sentinels are growing and benefiting our land-

scape.

Now Hiring!

We are taking applications for

a seasonal tree planter / fabric

applicator. Job will run May-

July, with 40+ hour weeks. If

you enjoy working outside,

putting conservation on the

ground, please call the office

to apply!

Grazing into Winter

Cattle operations in Cass County are seeing the

benefit of cover crop grazing into the winter. Cover

crop forage mixes can be planted following small

grain harvest or prevent plant acres, with the ensu-

ing biomass utilized for late fall to early winter

grazing. With the use of portable windbreak pan-

els, producers can distribute their cattle on cropland

acres by providing thermal protection from the ele-

ments. Benefits of grazing cattle on cropland acres

include wide distribution of manure without the

cost of handling it, water quality improvements,

and the reduction of supplemental winter feeding.

For more information on cost-sharing options to

make this a reality on your operation, contact us

today!

Cass County Soil Conservation District

1665 43rd St S, Suite103

Fargo ND 58103-3319

STEWARDSHIP FOR TODAY & TOMORROW

All programs and services of the Cass County Soil Conservation District are offered on a non-discriminatory basis, without regard to race, color, national origin, reli-

gion, sex, age or handicap. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national

origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disa-

bilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202)

720-2600 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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